Against her better judgment, Eames handed him the keys. She glanced at Logan. "Bobby's driving, Mike."

"Great. Remind him it's not a rocketship and I need to keep up!"

"I'll try."

The car was already running and in gear by the time she got in. By the time she fastened her seatbelt, they were out of the parking lot. "Bobby, we can't do anything for the kids if you drive us into a tree."

"I won't do that."

She looked out the back window. "Don't lose our backup, dammit."

Reluctantly, he eased up on the gas, allowing Logan a chance to catch up. Once the other car was behind them, he laid on the gas again. This time, Logan kept up.

Wallace grabbed the phone from the child and replaced it into its cradle. "Who were you talking to, Maggie?"

"I dunno." She jutted out her chin stubbornly. "I was tryin' to find Daddy."

Nicole grabbed her off the crate and held her arm as she shoved her toward the car. "You certainly are your father's child. What makes you think daddy is coming to get you?"

"He is coming! Daddy misses me!"

"I have already left him two notes, telling him where we are, Maggie, and he hasn't come yet. He has mommy. He doesn't need you and your brother. They can always make more babies."

Maggie did not like what this lady was saying any more than she liked being dragged across the parking lot. She dug her feet in suddenly and yanked her arm free. It entered her mind to run, but then she thought about her brother. She could not leave her baby. Daddy would not want her to leave her baby. So she crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Daddy is too coming for me!"

Wallace lost her patience. She slapped the child hard across the face, knocking her to the ground. Maggie raised a hand to her face and it came away bloody. She didn't know what to think. In all her life, no one had ever raised a hand to her in anger. She'd rarely even been yelled at, much less hit. And now she was bleeding. She tried hard not to cry, to be a brave girl, but the shock and the hurt were too much and she started to cry.

"Hey!" A man was coming toward her from a nearby pump. "Why did you hit that little girl?"

"Mind your own business!" Wallace spat at him.

"Honey, are you okay?"

Maggie looked up at the man. He had a kind face, like Uncle Mike's. "I want my daddy," she sobbed. "Can you get my daddy?"

"What's going on here?"

Fed up and out of patience, Wallace pulled a 9mm pistol from her waistband and shot him. Maggie watched in horror as the nice man fell. People screamed and ran for cover. Wallace yanked her up by the arm, and she felt something pop in her shoulder. She screamed in pain. Ignoring her cries, Wallace threw the girl into the front seat, climbed in and gunned the engine. She tore out of the station and sped off down the road.

Eames closed her phone. "I don't get this. That station is thirty-five miles from here. What is she doing? She should be in Vermont by now."

"She's digging in, Eames. It's not about getting away. It's about getting me."

"Taking you down with her?"

"Yes."

"Bobby..."

He shook his head. "I don't plan to let her take me down, Alex. I...I have too much at stake. I have a family to live for now."

"She's calling the shots, Bobby."

"Maybe not. I'll bet she didn't plan for Maggie to make a call."

"And if Maggie interfered with her plans..."

"Shh...don't go there. I've already been."

She turned toward the window and didn't say any more.

He fought down his panic when he saw the ambulance in the parking lot of the station. He jumped out of the car and ran toward the ambulance, holding his badge toward the cop who started toward them. The cop backed off, letting him approach the paramedics, who were getting ready to load the stretcher onto their rig. "What happened?" Goren demanded.

One of the paramedics replied, "Guy was shot trying to protect a little girl."

Swallowing down another rush of panic, he said, "P-protect?"

"Apparently some lady was roughing up her little girl."

"Can he talk?"

"Not at the moment." He pointed across the station. "Clerk saw it all."

He ran toward the station. "What happened?" he asked the clerk as he came through the door.

"Some lady blew a gasket over her kid using the phone. She seemed to be arguing with the little girl, and then she hit her."

Logan, who was right behind him, grabbed his arm. Goren looked at him, barely hanging on. Logan took over the questions. "Was the little girl hurt?"

"I didn't see that, but when that fellow stepped in to stop her, she shot him and took off like a bat out of hell."

"Yeah, well, that's about right. Which way did she go?"

"East, back toward the highway."

"Thanks, man." He had not released his firm hold on his friend's arm. "Get in my car. You're not driving anywhere."

"Logan..."

"I'm dead serious, Bobby."

He shoved him toward his car and motioned to Eames. "We're taking one car. Let's roll."

Eames quickly parked the SUV and locked it, running to Logan's car and jumping in as he pulled away, spinning his tires leaving the parking lot, heading back down the road toward the highway.

"Oh, stop that infernal crying!"

Maggie's cries had become sobs. "You-you hurt me!"

There was more indignation in her tone than fear. "You can blame you daddy for that."

"Daddy didn' do it!"

Wallace looked at her. "If you weren't so much like your daddy, I wouldn't have had to hurt you."

Maggie looked confused. She stood up on the seat and climbed into the back. Wallace grabbed for her, but missed. "I want to be with my baby!"

"Fine. Stay back there, then."

Trying not to move her injured arm, she leaned against Tommy's car seat. He smiled at her. "Ma ga!"

"It's okay, Tommy. I'll take care-a you."

She took an uneven breath and sobbed softly, lightly touching her swollen lip and bruised eye. She reached her hand over to hold her brother's leg and closed her eyes.

He was pushing eighty, watching for the blue sedan to appear in front of him. Nothing. "Stop, Mike!"

He slammed on the brakes and Goren jumped from the still moving car. "What, is he nuts?"

He skidded onto the shoulder and slammed the car into park. They got out and joined Goren several yards back, at the intersection of a dirt road with the highway. He was examining skid marks on the pavement, following them to freshly overturned dirt on the road. He pointed down the road. "She turned here. Get the car, Mike. Let's go!"

"Only if you promise not to jump from the damn car again," Logan grumbled as he ran back to the car.

Eames grabbed Goren's sleeve. "Where's your vest?"

He met her eyes. "Back in the SUV."

"Bobby..."

"I'll be careful. Come on. Get in the car."

They climbed back into the car as soon as Logan pulled up. He headed down the dirt road.